The present invention generally relates to display devices, and more specifically to a terraced modular rack assembly suitable for sheet music and the like.
Magazine racks and card racks of various types are already known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,303,971 discloses a rack for cards and method of making the same. The rack has a plurality of pockets, spaces or bins in which cards or other articles may be removably placed. However, the known racks of this type, as evidenced by this patent, do not lend themselves to a modular construction wherein the size of the overall rack may be adjustably varied to form a rack with as many or as few pockets as desired. Additionally, various stationery racks and filing devices, generally disposed within draws of a desk, are similarly known, and some of these constructions are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,449,177 and 2,873,860. An examination of these patents reveals rather complicated constructions which are not suitable for the use intended by the present invention, the displaying of generally flat items, such as sheet music, magazines and the like. The stationery racks or filing devices above-mentioned are generally made out of metal, are complex in construction and expensive to manufacture.
Storage bin assemblies are also known for holding small articles. Such bin assemblies which have a detachable back support member to permit several similar bins to be stacked in a vertical way is known and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,563,394 and 3,606,949. The bin assemblies of these patents are similarly complex in construction and expensive to manufacture. The storage bins of these patents, as well as the extruded display rack riser disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,198,340 generally require various hardware in addition to the bin elements in order to securely interconnect the bins to each other. The prior art devices, accordingly, do not disclose a simple construction wherein simple molded units or housings form rack elements which are interconnectable with one another and which require no additional hardware of any type to securely connect the rack elements to each other and which permit ready changes in the size of the rack assembly by either increasing or decreasing the total number of rack elements to the desired number.